Hat blocking apparatus



April 6, 1943.

E. cAlnNs 1 HAT BLOCKING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 18,'1942 s sheets-sheet 1April `6, 1943.- E. cAlRNs HAT BLOGKING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 18.A 1942 3Sheets-Shes; 2

Y section, taken on the line -5 of Fig. 1;

Patented Apr. 6, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAT BLOCKING APPARATUSEdward Cairns, Montclair, N. J.

Application August 18, 1942, Serial No. 455,269

s claims. (o1. 223-) This invention relates to blocking apparatusintended for the production of dome-like shapes formed of leather or ofother material capable of vbeing temporarily stretched and of taking aiinal set in such stretched state and more especially to hat blockingapparatus for remens or military helmets.

Among the principal objects of the invention are the provision of anapparatus which is simple, compact and economical to manufacture inwhich hats and the like can be expeditiously blocked or shaped with aminimum of skilled labor Ibeing required for such production. Furtherobjects of the invention Will hereinafter appear.

In the production of helmets and the like from materials such as leatherwhich when wet can be stretched, within reasonable limits, to a desiredsize and shape and which shape when dry will permanently set in suchstretched state, the blocking operation is essentially a hand operationwherein the operative draws the assembled crown segments to be shapedover a block of the desired size and shape While such block is held inhis lap. Such operation is laborious and also requires that aconsiderable degree of skill be exercised in order to produce a helmetof uniform quality and of the desired size and appearance. Furthermore,as the stretching operation involved in such production is performedwith hand tools, such hand blocking operation is wasteful of materialsince an undue amount of material is removed in the final trimmingoperation.

My investigations have led to the discovery that the aforesaid helmetsand like dome-shaped structures can be expeditiously formed, with aconsiderable saving of labor and with a maximum degree of uniformity andquality and with a substantial saving of material, in the blockingapparatus fully set forth and described in the accompanyingspecification and drawings, in which latter Figure l is a sideelevation, partly in section, of a hat blocking machine especiallyadapted for shaping helmets such as remens or military helmets;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail section taken on the line 3-3of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the clamp element, isolated;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal Fig. 6 is a verticalsection taken on the line 5-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section, partly in elevation, taken onthe line 'l--l of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 8 is a horizontal plan view, partly`in section, taken on the line8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings and the construction shown therein,` thereference numeral I designates a circular base plate that is rotatablymounted in flanged bearing .blocks 2 which are rigidly secured to afloor or other suitable foundation A. Said base serves as an anchoragefor four uprights or rods 3 which project vertically therefrom and serveto horizontally support a circular table 4 that is rigidly mounted onthe upper ends thereof. The table is provided with four radial slots 5which extend completely therethrough and in which the blocks 6, havingremovable bottom plates B', are slidably mounted. Radial apertures Iextend from the respective outer ends of the slots through the adjacentperiphery of the table and serve to receive the threaded shanks of handscrews 8, each of which Shanks is loosely tted in one of said aperturesand is in threaded engagement with one of said blocks whereby limitedadjustment of the latter can be eiected upon rotation of the handscrews. Each of such hand screws is provided with a collar 8 adjacentthe end thereof and extends outwardly through a bearing block 9 that isrigidly secured to the outer periphery of the table `and is providedwith a recess 9 to receive said collar. Each block has a screw eye Ivertically supported therein which functions as hereinafter described.

An hydraulic press, such for example as an ordinary hydraulic jack, ismounted on said base plate I, the same comprising a main cylinder` II,provided with the usual relief valve (not shown), a small cylinder II,interconnected with the main cylinder by a iuid supply pipe I2 and anoperating hand lever I3 that is fulcrumed on la pin I4 carried by a lugI4 on the cylinder wall and is also pivotally connected to the upper endof a plunger I5, that is carried by the piston in the small cylinder, bymeans of a pinion I5', whereby upon movement of the plunger I5 asimultaneous but smaller movement of a large plunger I6, connected tothe piston in the main cylinder I I, is effected all in the well knownmanner. I

A ram element I1, having a reduced lower end I1 which normally rests onsaid plunger I6,

is slidably mounted in the central aperture I8 of. said table and saidramis vertically guided by a sleeve I9 rigidly secured by its bottomange Ia to said table marginally of said aperture I8.

A hat block desirably formed of wood, which is of a dome-shapedconfiguration and whose upper surface conforms to the internal surfaceof the crown of the desired helmet, carries a centrally aperturedpressure plate 26 and has a central aperture 21 for the centering pin 28that is rigidly mounted in the upper end of said ram and projectscentrally through said pressure plate 25.

The reference numeral 30 designates the crown of a helmet after the samehas been blocked in my improved press, the same comprising four leathersector-like flanged members which have been united together, prior tothe blocking operation, by stitches S to form curvilinear ribsy 3l and.which have embossed stiiening beads 32, also previously formed thereon,whose opposite walls are also united by stitches S to thereby preventtheir'collapse during the blocking operation.

A retaining pin 33 serves, when inserted between the inner terminals ofthe said ribs 3| and into the radial slot 3d of the block 25, tocentrally position the helmet members in position on the block. Anadjustable strap, comprising similar members 35, 35' having terminalflanges 36, 36 respectively adjustably connected together by bolts 31and 3l and also having convolutions 38, 3B to receive the ribs 3l andbeads 32, is adapted after the completion of the blocking operation toretain the helmet crown in its stretched condition and admit of theremoval from the press of the block 25 carrying the stretched helmetcrown, all in the manner hereinafter described.

When the pre-'united helmet sectors, aft-er being thoroughly soaked inwater in the well known manner have been applied in position on theblock 25 and the positioning pin 33 has been inserted in the slot 34,the lower margin of the helmet crown is securely gripped between foursets of clamping members disposed at 90 intervals about such margin,each of which sets cornprises cooperating jaws, Ml, lit having opposedserrations or teeth a and the jaw 49 being forked and having a centralslot M of a width adapted to permit one of the ribs 3l to freely projecttherethrough. Each jaw lil also has an inwardly projecting terminal lugor spacing element 42 and each jaw carries a guide pin 43 which projectsthrough an aperture 43' in the opposing jaw. A screw-threaded post M,that is rigidly a-nchored in each of the jaws dii, projects through theslot 4I and also a hand wheel 45 is threaded thereon. Coil springs b,normally held under compression when the jaws are clamped on the helmetcrown, serve to instantly separate the jaws and release their grip onthe helmet crown when the hand wheels 45 arev unscrewed to a sufficientextent.

'Iurnbuckles IIS are connected by eyes il and hooks 41', that aresecured to the opposite ends thereof, to bolts 4,3 carried on the lowerends of the jaws 40 and to the screw eyes Il] carried by theblocks 6,respectively.

In blocking the crown of a helmet or like dome-shaped structures, thepre-united helmet sectors to be stretched are loosely fitted over theblock 25 and the lower margin thereof is inserted between the jaws Ml,40' carried on the upper end of the turnbuckles 45, which have beenpreviously adjusted so to be of approximately the same length and whileeach is elevated into its uppermost position, whereupon the hand wheels45 are screwed in, i. e. turned clockwise so as to cause said jaws tosecurely grip the lower margins of the helmet at intervals along thesame. The blocks 6 are then adjusted longitudinally of the radial slots5 by suitably turning the hand screws 8 so that the turnbuckles 46 willproject vertically from the blocks 5. Then the hand lever vI3 is slowlymanipulated to eiect the gradual upward movement of the ram I'I againstthe hat block 25, which movement serves to gradually push the blockupwardly into the united helmet sectors, In the event that an unevenpull of the jaws of the helmet is observed during the Vupward movementof the ram I'I., as will'be indicated by the tipping of the pin 33 froma vertical position, the turnbuckles are separately adjusted so as toreturn the pin during such stretching operation to the Verticalposition. The upward movement of the block serves to cause the relativemovement of the helmet thereover and when such helmet has been stretchedto the desired extent it will assume the position shown in Fig. 1.Thereupon the strap members 35, 35 are applied to the helmet in such amanner that two of the ribs 3I respectively project into the opposingconvolutions 38 and the other two ribs respectively project between theadjacent ends 35, 3% of such strap members and also extend through slots4I of the jaw members IIB'. The adjusting bolts 3E are then turned downwith a suitable wrench until the strap members 35, 35" have firmlyclamped the wet helmet crown to the block 25 at the extreme basethereof, whereupon the relief valve of the main cylinder is opened toadmit of the rapid descent of the ram, and then the hand wheels I5 areunserewed to release the grip of each of the jaws on the helmet. Theblock 25, with the helmet securely clamped thereto, is then bodilylifted off the ram and removed to a drying r-oom where the stretchedhelmet is allowed t0 gradually dry over a period of many hours. Anotherblock carrying the united sectors of another helmet crown loosely fittedthereto is then applied to the top of the ram and the cycle ofoperations is repeated.

In addition to the aforesaid advantages of my improved blockingapparatus and method of .blocking helmets and the like by the employmentof such apparatus, there is the advantage of the ease of adjustment ofeither the turnbuckles i6 or the hand screws 8 during the blockingoperation in the event that any uneven stretching of the crown shouldcommence to occur. Also, due to the swiveled mounting of the base plateI of the frame of the machine in the bearing blocks 2, the operativecany readily rotate the machine to bring any particular turnbuckle orhand screw or set of jaws to the front of the machine without involvingthe waste of time and effort in walking around the machne to eiect suchadjustment. Moreover, due to the fact that immediately upon thecompletion of the stretching operation on the helmet crown the same canbe clamped, in its stretched condition, on the block 25 by means of thestraps 35, 35', the block carrying the crown can, as above stated, bequickly lifted from the machine merely by the simple operation ofreleasing the grip of the jaws on the helmet crown. Furthermore, it ispossible, with but one of my improved machines to block many times thenumber of helmets in a given time than could be blocked or shaped by thehand blocking operationv heretofore in general use.

The term hat as employed in the claims includes helmets and like headgear.

It is, of course, understood that while the straps 35 shown herein areadapted to fit a helmet having elevated beads or ribs thereon, suchy asthe ribs 3| and the beads 32, that plain straps to securely grip thelower margins of a helmet having a smooth crown may also be employed, ifdesired. Also while I preferably employ a hydraulic press or hydraulicjack, a mechanical jack or mechanically operated press may, if desired,be substituted therefor.

Various modifications of the above described apparatus within the scopeof the appended claims may be made without departing from the spirit ofmy invention as embraced therein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a blocking machine for shaping the crowns of hats and the like thecombination with a rotatable frame of an upright ram element slidablymounted in said frame,'a block member removably supported thereon whoseupper surface generally conforms to the shape of the inner surface ofthe desired crown to be shaped in such apparatus, adjustable stretchingmeans carried by said frame, including a plurality of spaced jawsadapted to grip the margin of the crown to be stretched at spacedlocations along the same and means for clamping such a crown to saidblock to maintain the same in a stretched condition following itsremoval from the machine and during the drawing thereof.

2. In a blocking machine for shaping the crowns of hats and the like thecombination with a rotatable frame of an upright ram element slidablymounted in said frame, a block member removably supported thereon who-seupper surface generally conforms to the shape of the inner surface ofthe desired crown to be shaped in such apparatus, adjustable stretchingmeans carried by said frame, including a plurality of turnbucklesswiveled to said frame at spaced intervals and each having adjustablejaw members at one end thereof and also including a transverse supportoffering resistance to an upward thrust of the ram, to effect thestretching of a crown to be stretched when gripped by said jaws.

3. In a blocking machine for shaping the crowns of hats and the like thecombination with a rotatable frame of an upright ram element slidablymounted in said frame, a .block member removably supported thereon whoseupper surface generally conforms to the shape of the inner surface ofthe desired crown to be shaped in such apparatus, adjustable stretchingmeans carried by said frame, including a plurality of turnbucklesswiveled to said frame at spaced intervals and each having adjustablejaw members at one end thereof and also including a transverse supportoffering resistance to an upward thrust of the ram to effect thestretching of a crown to be stretched when gripped by said jaws andmeans for clamping such a crown to said block to maintain the same in astretched oondition following its removal from the machine and duringthe drying thereof.

4. In a blocking machine for shaping the crowns of hats and the like,the combination comprising a rotatable frame having central guide meansfor a ram element, a slidable ram projecting through said guide means, ablockmember removably supported thereon, a plurality of laterallyadjustable members carried by said frame adjustable means, includingterminal jaw members connected to each such adjustable member, forgripping the bottom margin of a crown to be shaped in such machine.

5. In a hat blocking machine, the combination comprising a main frame, aram element slidably mounted therein, means for exerting pressure onsaid rain element, a block member removably supported on said framewhose upper surface generally conforms to the shape of the inner surfaceof the desired crown to be shaped in such apparatus, adjustablestretching means carried by said frame, including a plurality ofspacedjaws adapted to grip the margin of the crown to be stretched at spacedlocations along the same and means for clamping such a crown to saidblock to maintain the same in a stretched condition following itsremoval from the machine and during the drying thereof.

6. In a hat blocking machine, the sub-combination comprising asupporting turn table, a Vertically slidable ram element associatedtherewith, vertically and laterally adjustable means for gripping thelower margin of the crown of a hat to be shaped in said machine and foroffering resistance to an upward thrust of said ram element to effectthe stretching of such a crown so gripped by said adjustable means andother means for effecting the gradual upward sliding movement of saidram.

7. In a hat blocking machine, the combination comprising a rotatablebase member, an hydraulic press, including a ram element supportedthereon, a transverse table supported on said base and having centralguide means for said ram element, a plurality of radially adjustablemembers carried by said table, a turnbuckle secured to each of saidmembers, terminal jaws on each turnbuckle for gripping the lower marginof a hat crown to be shaped in said machine, a removable hat blocksupported on said ram and removable clamping means for retaining thecrown in a stretched condition on said block while admitting of theremoval thereof from the machine.

8. In a blocking machine for hats and other dome-shaped articles ofpliable material the combination with a main frame of hydraulic press,including a main plunger and a ram actuated thereby, of a unitary blockwhose external periphery conforms to that of the crown of the desiredarticle, means for supporting said block centrally on said ram,adjustable clamping means for securing a stretched crown after theshaping thereof on said block when the latter is removed from the pressand means cooperating with said ram, including a plurality ofturnbuckles and a plurality of laterally slidable blockscarried by saidframe, for gripping the crown of an article to be shaped and effectingthe stretching thereof upon upward movement of said ram.

EDWARD CAIRNS.

